Many men, and women too, seek to spend their weekends in the lap of nature. However, not all citizens love just walking in the woods or "quiet hunting." Many on the weekend want to take a fishing rod and gear to spend time fishing. Of course, you can’t do without boasting your catch. Catching pikes on the river is an interesting and fascinating activity, in addition, the catch can be simply amazing. In this article we will talk about a giant river predator - pike.
Some scientific information
Any student knows that pike belongs to river predatory fish and can grow to enormous sizes. In addition, scientists have long studied the habitat, external and internal structure, food preferences and features of fishing for toothy predators. In accordance with the classification in the biology textbook, pikes belong to the animal kingdom, type of chordates, class of ray-feathers, order of pike-like. Pike are freshwater fish. The body of the river predator is elongated, and there are many sharp teeth in the mouth, while the lower jaw protrudes significantly forward. Scientists have found that pike on average live more than 30 years, while its growth lasts a lifetime. Fish can reach simply huge sizes. The size of a pike in a quiet backwater can reach 2 meters in length, and the weight of such a fish is 30-35 kg. The predator loves quiet silty backwaters and calm ponds, so biologists do not recommend swimming in forest ponds. Where does pike live? The habitat of this fish is Europe, Siberia and even North America.
The stories of experienced
It's no secret that anglers love to talk about their adventures. Many inveterate fishermen not only embellish the size of the caught fish, but also exaggerate the weight of the catch caught. For many years there have been various legends and stories about giant pike among fishers. Big pike in nature are not uncommon, but it can be very difficult to catch.
Fantasy broke out ...
Fishing is a fascinating and exciting activity that men and women, children and the elderly, boys and girls love to do. At the same time, every fisherman has several dozens of stories in store about a missed catch or a giant fish caught by him. In order for a big pike to catch the fisherman’s hook without any difficulty, you need to choose the right equipment, buy bait and choose the best place for fishing.
Many fishermen were lucky to catch a pike up to 1 meter long and weighing more than 15 kg. However, there are many fishing stories that tell of a larger catch. Giant pike is the main character of such stories.
Ringed predator - found out her age
Truly fantastic stories and stories go about the biggest pikes. According to one of the popular legends, a giant pike was caught in Germany in 1497, and its weight was 140 kg. The length of the toothy predator exceeded 5.5 meters, and the age of the fish was 270 years. How did you know the age of pike? Everything is very simple - in 1230, by order of the Emperor of the Roman Empire, Frederick the Second, a special ring with a date was put on a river predator. It was through the ring that scientists were able to determine the age of the fish. The skeleton of a giant pike was placed in a museum in the city of Mannheim, where for several years it was an exhibit. Eyewitnesses claim that all pike scales were white. All melanin, due to age, has completely disappeared from the fish organism. Subsequently, biologists conducted a study of the skeleton and found that the giant pike was collected from the bones of several fish. Thus, the story of the huge predator did not receive scientific confirmation and went into the category of fishing fiction.
And how are things in Russia?
In our country there is an equally interesting legend about a giant river predator. The story goes that when clearing the Royal Ponds in 1794, fishermen managed to catch a huge fish. The giant pike was ringed with a golden ring, while the mark of the Russian Tsar Boris Fedorovich was clearly visible on it. The length of this river predator almost reached a 2-meter mark, and its weight exceeded 60 kg. Judging by the mark on the ring, the age of the caught fish was about 190 years. However, no evidence has been preserved about the capture of the river predator, except for mentions in the documents. But, as the people say, "paper will endure everything." It is not worth trusting the data that the largest caught pike lived in Russia.
Official information
In addition to fishing tales, there is scientific evidence that giant pike live in nature. Biologists have long proved that a special subspecies of pike, the mascinong, lives in North America. In appearance, it very much resembles the pike familiar to us, but in size, weight and age it is much ahead of it. A giant pike was caught in 1660 in North America. Its weight was 75 kg, and the length of the fish reached 200 cm. However, the photos of this giant did not survive, because it was a very long time ago, and phototechnologies were not developed. Modern representatives of this subspecies are much smaller. Scientists report that in our time such large pikes are no longer found. The maximum weight of pike can reach 45 kg, but even this is enough for fishing stories.
Record catch
In addition to fishing stories and legends, there are officially confirmed facts of the capture of giant fish.
- The largest pike caught in our country was caught in 1930. In Lake Ilmen, a fisherman managed to catch a toothy predator weighing 35 kg and 1.9 meters in length. Many anglers say that their catch weighed much more, but they did not want to advertise this fact.
- In 1957, in North America, a huge fish, the mascinong, was caught in the St. Lawrence River , its weight was 32 kg.
- Another giant pike was caught near the city of Sortavala. Her weight exceeded the mark of 49 kg. It was possible to catch such a large individual thanks to the bait, while another, smaller pike, with a body weight of 5 kg, acted in its role.
- In addition to the above facts, there are also other recorded catches of river giant predators. In Ukraine, in Lake Ladoga, local residents catch huge fish. How many pikes live in these places, scientists have not been able to find out. Many fishermen claim that the age of the caught fish exceeds the 30-year mark. But this fact can neither be confirmed nor disproved.
How to catch a predator?
Almost every angler knows that pikes have rather strong and large jaws, so fishing tackle must be powerful and strong. In addition, when a pike pecks, the fisherman risks being left without gear. Therefore, more experienced anglers prefer to use wire instead of the usual leash. What other tricks do experienced fishermen use when fishing for pike?
- In order to catch a huge fish, you need a big bait. Fishermen know that pike bait should be at least 30 grams, otherwise a toothy predator will not want to feast on it.
- To capture a larger specimen, the fisherman should go fishing in secluded and quiet backwaters. The predator does not like loud sounds, so when a pike bites, you should not talk loudly or scream.
- Toothy pike loves the warm season. The best time for fishing for this fish is considered to be late autumn or spring. It is worth noting that in the heat the river predator tries to swim to a depth and wait for the optimal ambient temperature.
- In places where the pike is found, it is usually full of snags and mud, because this fish loves to hide and watch its prey from shelter. When preparing gear, special attention should be paid to the bait. Pike is a typical predator, therefore, prefers to enjoy a lively fish. In addition to bait, as a bait, you can use a brilliant wobbler or playing lure.
A chic catch these days
Do not think that in our time catches of giant pikes are no longer recorded. The largest predators were not only caught by our contemporaries, but also photographed as a keepsake. Recent records:
- In 2011, in Canada, successful fishermen caught a 118 cm long fish.
- In the same 2011, the record of Canadian fishermen was broken, and a pike 130 cm long was caught in the St. Lawrence River.
- In 2013, a fisherman from America, Mark Carlson, was photographed with a huge toothy fish. The pike weighed as much as 27 kg, and its length exceeded the mark of 1 m 30 cm.
- In 2016, our compatriot Stepan Smolinuk from Ufa was able to capture his catch in a photograph. He managed to catch a predator in the Belaya River weighing almost 3 kg, the length of the fish reaches a meter mark.
Predator attack on animals
Pike is a fairly large predatory fish, for which it is not difficult to catch a small animal or bird. But can a pike catch and eat a larger beast? Theoretically, this possibility cannot be ruled out. Of course, it is not easy to catch young and strong animals, but wounded and sick animals are found in nature. Bleeding animals are a special prey for toothy fishes. Pike, like any other predator, perfectly smells blood and sees its prey from afar. Wounded animal is better not to cross the reservoir in which the fish of the pike family live. Can pike attack large animals? Definitely the answer will be positive.
Cannibals: myth or reality?
Old-timers say that in the reservoirs of Siberia there are giant fishes that periodically eat people. According to them, such huge individuals can easily break the ice and even sink a fishing boat. Numerous stories about pike eating people can be found among various indigenous peoples of Siberia: Nenets, Chukchi, Yakuts and others. For example, the Chukchi have a legend that the “biting fish” (as the representatives of the nationality call the pike-cannibal) managed to swallow a young fisherman, while the fish completely destroyed his boat. Local residents even managed to catch a monster, and in a very original way: 4 carts were completely filled with deer carcasses and placed at the bottom of the reservoir. A toothy predator with such an appetite began to absorb food that she did not notice the wooden carts under the venison. The teeth of the giant pike were completely stuck in the thickness of the tree, and the fishermen were able to pull the monster to the surface.
According to the legend of the Eskimos, a giant fish managed to swallow two fishermen traveling around the lake in a light shuttle. At the same time, their friend was present, but he was not able to help friends. Having dealt with two men, the monster decided to eat a third fisherman. The surviving man began to row the oars so quickly that the giant cannibal monster did not catch the boat. As soon as the boat reached the shore, the fisherman escaped into the forest. Subsequently, the victim claimed that the pike was a huge fish.
However, biologists do not agree with such legends. According to scientific information, the maximum size of an ordinary pike cannot be more than 2.5 meters. A fish of this length is unlikely to cope with an adult and can eat it. Be that as it may, the locals do not recommend approaching close to some ponds and factories.
A fairy tale is a lie, but a hint in it ...
Giant cannibals are found or not in nature , no one knows. However, many researchers describe in their scientific works the fact of the existence of fish with enormous size and weight. For example, in the book "Essays on the Narym Territory" N. Grigorovsky mentions giant pikes that are found in remote Siberian reservoirs. Ethnographers Kulemzin and Lukina tell of the pike jaw seen in the home of one of the Khanty. The jaw of the fish was so large that it was used as a hanger for outerwear.
Almost all the legends are made up of lake pikes, river individuals are much smaller in size. In the quiet and unexplored reservoirs of Siberia, any fish can reach truly enormous sizes. The thing is that in the lakes there is nothing to be afraid of pike: there are no fishermen here, and large predators in these places are quite rare. But there is a lot of food for predators.
To summarize ...
How many pikes live? What size can a giant lake fish have? How much toothy predator can weigh as much as possible? Do cannibalistic monsters actually live in our river ponds? Questions, questions, questions ...
Let's hope that in the near future at least one huge pike will be caught, and scientists will finally be able to solve all the natural puzzles regarding these predatory fish.